As Key Health Vote Draws Near, AST Pushes Senate to Say 'Yes' to Transplant Drug Extension

As the Senate Finance Committee prepares to vote on the amended health care reform package, members of the American Society of Transplantation (AST) arrived on Capitol Hill armed with a letter encouraging the Senate to adopt a health care provision that will extend Medicare's coverage of post-transplant drugs, which are critical to maintaining the health of the transplant patient. Immunosuppressive drugs are currently covered for a period of 36 months. Because the drugs are so costly, when coverage is exhausted, many kidney recipients have no choice but to go without medication, thereby compromising their health and the viability of the transplanted organ. The House has included the...

Want to see the full article?

• Purchase this article for only $3.00